/r/askhistorians

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The Rule of St. Benedict (written 516 A.D.) describes how an abbey should be organized, and declares that abbots should be elected meritocratically from among the monks. How did elections like these function in the Medieval world? Were they "fair" and legitimate elections by modern standards?

242 upvotes • Mr_Quinn

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Were Bonnie and Clyde romanticised at all while they were active, or did that come later?

242 upvotes • Jerswar

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Did vikings capture the children of their enemies and raise them as their own?

242 upvotes • Lucid_Adept

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In 1968 one of the worlds first successful heart transplants was performed on Philip Blaiberg a white South African who was given the heart of Clive Haupt - a young black man. In the era of "Grand Apartheid" what were the reaction to the ethics of this?

242 upvotes • Creeemi

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What did the Romans think of Stonehenge? Did they ever wonder who built it and what it was made for?

242 upvotes • optiplex9000

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The Electric Chair seems like a horrible way to be executed. Was it more humane compared to firing squads and hangings?

242 upvotes • RusticBohemian

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An ancestor of my husband's had charges brought against him or brought charges against someone else "at the Poultry Counter" in Essex 1460-1465. What does that mean, "at the Poultry Counter"? Why the Poultry Counter?

242 upvotes • TalaLeisu2

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Given that the Japanese name for the country is Nippon, where did the western world get the name “Japan” from?

242 upvotes • SIRUNKLYDUNK

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How did terms 'first, second and third world country' completely change their meaning?

242 upvotes • Rutabaga-

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Why did Mikhail Gorbachev do the 1998 Pizza Hut commercial?

242 upvotes • Cagey898

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Title	Upvotes	Author	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
The Rule of St. Benedict (written 516 A.D.) describes how an abbey should be organized, and declares that abbots should be elected meritocratically from among the monks. How did elections like these function in the Medieval world? Were they "fair" and legitimate elections by modern standards?	242	Mr_Quinn
Were Bonnie and Clyde romanticised at all while they were active, or did that come later?	242	Jerswar
Did vikings capture the children of their enemies and raise them as their own?	242	Lucid_Adept
In 1968 one of the worlds first successful heart transplants was performed on Philip Blaiberg a white South African who was given the heart of Clive Haupt - a young black man. In the era of "Grand Apartheid" what were the reaction to the ethics of this?	242	Creeemi
What did the Romans think of Stonehenge? Did they ever wonder who built it and what it was made for?	242	optiplex9000
The Electric Chair seems like a horrible way to be executed. Was it more humane compared to firing squads and hangings?	242	RusticBohemian
An ancestor of my husband's had charges brought against him or brought charges against someone else "at the Poultry Counter" in Essex 1460-1465. What does that mean, "at the Poultry Counter"? Why the Poultry Counter?	242	TalaLeisu2
Given that the Japanese name for the country is Nippon, where did the western world get the name “Japan” from?	242	SIRUNKLYDUNK
How did terms 'first, second and third world country' completely change their meaning?	242	Rutabaga-
Why did Mikhail Gorbachev do the 1998 Pizza Hut commercial?	242	Cagey898